Sadness, stress, anger, frustration, pain, guilt - all of these are just some of the emotions we may feel when a family member is very ill. However, with all the angst, with all this negativity, we hope, pray and seek some sliver of happiness that sheds some light on a bad situation. This Thanksgiving, Mike and I didn't host the usual LaCouture-Cipolone feast and instead moved things to my in-laws.
If you have been following the blog or are a friend you may know about my father-in-law who has
ALS. To give you perspective, from the time he was diagnosed in November of 2010 with minor symptoms of weakness in his arms to now being in a hospital bed and not being able to walk or eat. However, he has a wonderful disposition despite this awful disease. It escalated
June 1st when he was rushed to the hospital after a weekend of being able to read a kindle, drinking margaritas and making chili cheese dip. My husband puts 200% into taking care of him, while being able to work hard at his job, while keeping up with his band, Beyond Dishonor, moving the Brewtal Beer along and spending time together with me (I get exhausted typing it).
The one concern that all of us had was HOW we were going to eat in front of this man who has not been able to have ANY food since June 1st. BUT, Mike got him in the wheel chair, pushed him out and the decision was made - take some Glenfiddich whiskey and put it on a swab for his mouth - not enough to swallow but to taste and this my friends was the
small blessing, the little sliver of happiness that you look for during all this negativity.
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| Mike and his dad, Carle |
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| Tamara (mike's sister), Mike and Carle and Glen... |
For the first time in this house I saw genuine laughter and happiness that has been absent for a while. In Thanksgiving fashion, I am so thankful we were able to spend our Thanksgiving with both our families and that we have such an AWESOME family.
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| Love this guy! |
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| Our feast |
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| No Thanksgiving is complete without a fried turkey with my dad's beer brine - AWESOME |
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| Fall veggies -I had to fit in another food pic |
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| My parents |
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| Sneaking Turkey as it is cut |
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| My #1 sis! |
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| The little guys - Brenden, Aiden and Kieran |
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| Mom and mother in law! |
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| Belinda and Billy |
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| This doesn't belong - but I can't forget my little bro, Ant (in middle) that we were able to see in Florida! |
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| Source: High Tail Farms |
He lives in Louisiana with his fiance, Kaela where they are farming and sold all of their fine turkey's they raised! They were even on TV - check them out here
www.hightailfarms.com
Really glad to see things went so well at Mike's parents for Thanksgiving. Small blessings are blessings indeed! Great pictures Heath.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that, about your father-in-law. Hugs to you guys.
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